Interdependence of Man and Woman
Introduction
Warning!! This section is not meant for feminists or male chauvinists.
This is an attempt to justify the interdependence of the two sexes with evidence from Hinduism.
Discussion
The most significant evidence comes from the dependency of the Trinity on their consorts.
To make this point clearer, here is the description of the three main gods and their consorts.
The Trinity
Brahma : The Creator
Vishnu : The Protector
Shiva : The Destructor
The three most important attributes needed for success are Knowledge , Wealth and Power. A man who has all these in their entirity is undoubtedly the greatest.
Let me digress from the main discussion to bring out another interesting connection between science and Hinduism.
According to Hinduism the supreme being, or the 'Brahman'(Not to be confused with Brahma)is the master of the above mentioned attributes. Brahman is also defined as the sum total of all the energies in the cosmos and the trinity is the manifestation of this entire energy. This belief leads to the much acclaimed Einstein's Mass - Energy conversion( E = MC^2)!.
Coming back to the main topic of discussion.
It is evident that among these three attributes. Knowledge is dearest to the creator, Brahma ; Wealth to the protector, Vishnu and Power to the destructor, Shiva.
So we have the following
Trinity and the attribute dearest to them
Brahma : Knowledge
Vishnu : Wealth
Shiva : Power
The interdependency is clearly established by the knowlege of the following two sets of facts.
The consorts of the Trinity
Brahma : Sarasawati
Vishnu : Lakshmi
Shiva : Parvati
The role of the consorts
Saraswati : Goddess of knowledge
Lakshmi : Goddess of wealth
Parvati : Goddess of power
Those in love will agree that there is nothing more dear to one than their wife.
The other point that has to be noted is that the goddesses are not merely consorts, but they preserve their individuality. In fact there are many cases where the goddesses take charge and ensure that evil is destroyed and righteouness established. This should be appealing to the feminists!
In hinduism the female has always been given an exalted position and is considered all powerful. Infact there is a saying in Tamil " Pennai kandal, paeium nadungum " meaning "Even the devil fears a woman".
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